| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
`Dwelling' with ecotourism in the Peruvian AmazonCultural relationships in local—global spacesTexas A&M University, USA, tjamal{at}tamu.edu
Texas A&M University, USA, astronza{at}tamu.edu This article argues for a perspective to ecotourism development that is not determined solely by academics, capitalistic markets, conservationists or NGOs, but also by locally defined and culturally embedded relations and meanings. We start with a theoretical critique of ecotourism development and conservation at the intersection of the macro-global and micro-local levels. Insights from the existential philosopher, Martin Heidegger (1889—1976) help identify spaces and relationships in natural area destinations that illustrate the paradox of ecological modernization. A longitudinal case study of a community-based ecotourism initiative in the Peruvian Amazon is used to illustrate our argument. Local residents work in partnership with a private tour company to market and operate the lodge, but negotiations go beyond splitting profits or commodifying resources. Members engage in and resist tourism-related changes in multiple ways. Heidegger's notions of dwelling and care (concern: Sorghe) introduces a way of understanding such performative ecotourism spaces.
Key Words: care (concern: sorghe) dwelling ecotourism development Heidegger human—environmental relationships Peruvian Amazon social-cultural sustainability
Tourist Studies, Vol. 8, No. 3,
313-335 (2008) |
|||